1955 Chevy Bel Air - Velvet Hammer

This Classic Five-Five Has Rat Power And An Oh-So-Smooth Black Body

Tri-Fives are reaching a new level among the performance crowd. Not only are they renewed into restored classics and cruisers, but there are those that climb to the level of, essentially, a high-dollar street rod. A byproduct of this willingness to invest large sums of money into these Shoeboxes has resulted in another model that's more inline with the everlasting Pro Streeter, a machine that features the best of everything. When Kevin St.

John set out to build himself the ultimate, classic Tri-Five, he didn't mess around. Kevin acquired his '55 Bel Air post in August 1998, and immediately set about the task of transforming the 45-year-old machine from mild to (totally) wild. All told, it would take St. John a little more than 15 months (and a lot of dough) to complete the project. But then, Kevin's '55 is a lot more car than your average five-five!

Up top you'll find a set of O'Neal-prepared L-88 cylinder heads sporting 2.250-inch Manley stainless steel intake, and 1.90-inch stainless steel exhaust valves. Also onboard is a complete set of Iskenderian valvetrain hardware, along with ARP head and rocker arm studs and a set of 1.7-ratio Crane roller rockers, protected by a pair of Brodix aluminum valve covers.

Nestled in between those heads is a Wieand intake, sporting a Holley 1050 Dominator and NOS "Big Shot," 350hp nitrous plate, topped with a K&N lifetime air cleaner. Ignition is handled by a Mallory Comp 9000 Uni-Lite ignition system firing NGK spark plugs. A set of 2-inch aluminized Doug Thorley headers exit the exhaust through a pair of 3-inch Flowmaster mufflers. Engine cooling is handled by a Wieand aluminum water pump and Griffin three-core aluminum radiator.

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Getting the horsepower back to the rear wheels is a 3,500 stall speed, B&M/GM Turbo 400 transmission prepared by Wylie's 5-A Transmissions. The final link in the drivetrain is a Driveshaft King custom-fabricated driveshaft.

When it came to the flawless paint and bodywork, Gary Grage gets the credit. Grage smoothed out the '55's sheetmetal and block-sanded it to perfection prior to repainting it in multiple coats of PPG Raven Black. With that done, St. John trimmed out the coachwork using a combination of new old-stock parts and Danchuck exterior trim.

Since completion, Kevin's '55 has captured the top award at this year's Millennium 2000 edition of the Dallas AutoRama, and the Ft. Worth Rod & Custom Car Show. Moreover, it's also captured our interest. As '55 Chevy Showboxes go, we like this one plenty fine!

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